Flicks in Five: Carousel

St. Paul, Minn. — June Is Busting Out All Over: Rodgers and Hammerstein were riding on the tidal wave that was "Oklahoma" when they looked for a vehicle to re-create their huge Broadway success. They turned to a very unlikely source in a Hungarian play called "Liliom", all about a con artist carousel barker of the same name who falls in love with a sweet, innocent local girl named Julie. While the play was a flop in Hungary, the non-musical version had some success on Broadway, but it was in the hands of Rodgers and Hammerstein that Billy Bigelow's star shone brightest both on stage and at the movies.